Pet Therapy Teams help create a legacy of caring by providing regular pet visits to health care facilities, senior centers, long-term care centers, hospice facilities, children and family centers, schools, colleges and numerous specialty programs.
The benefits of pet visitation programs are well documented and recognized in the medical community. Interactions with therapy animals can significantly improve mental and physical health including lowering blood pressure, reducing agitation, depression and anxiety; it can stimulate creativity and confidence and increase interactions in literacy.
Central Alberta Humane Society partners with Companion Paws Canada to provide a structured training program for humans and canine’s to result in team’s providing for therapy teams to ensure the consideration and safety of both canines and humans.
Learn more about the Companion Paws’ Certified Program. When you apply to become a Therapy Dog Team, you’ll enhance the lives of others by sharing your dog’s loving personality.
A certified personal therapy dog (Companion Paws emotional support dog) is a trained, temperament tested, evaluated and certified dog that brings positive mental health benefits to their owners/handlers. Often a Therapy Dog is beneficial to those that struggle with mental health conditions.
Assisted Therapy Dogs join their handler/owner (typically educators, teachers, psychologists, counsellors and doctors) at their workplace to help their students, clients, customers and/or patients.
Typically, Visiting Therapy Dogs visit events, shelters, hospitals, schools, hospices, nursing homes and more. Unlike service dogs, therapy dogs are encouraged to interact with a variety of people while they are on-duty. Everyone at Companion Paws is a dog lover. We take great care to only qualify dogs who enjoy interacting with complete strangers. Where someone needs unconditional love and unwavering support, these very special furry friends step up and provide it in spades. To request a visit from one or more of our Certified Visiting Therapy Dog Teams, please click here for Visiting Therapy Dog Request for details and request form.
Before you jump in and find your perfect companion, please take note that Companion Paws Therapy dogs are designated companion dogs and will not be certified as service dogs. Therapy dogs are companion dogs trained to provide affection, comfort and company and are not afforded the same legal privileges as service dogs. For the differences, see here.
If you are an organization that would like a Therapy Dog Team to visit your facility, please fill out the form provided at Companion Paws Canada.
Companion Paws Canada‘s Therapy Dog Team provides visits to many types of organizations & facilities including:
Companion Paws dogs are not Service or Guide Dogs. CPC dogs are designated Therapy dogs. Therapy pets are different from Service dogs and Guide dogs. Therapy dogs DO NOT share the same public access rights granted to service pets and may be denied admittance to public places. Companion Paws Canada pets do not have special privileges beyond those granted to any other pet in public places, on public transportation or in private buildings such as apartment blocks where the keeping of pets is restricted or prohibited.
Service dogs and Therapy dogs are two forms of highly trained dogs that work to improve the lives of people. Although both types of these dogs have an amazing impact on the lives of their humans their roles are very different. A service dog is an assistance or guide dog that has been specially trained to help someone who has a disability. Service dogs work only with one owner/handler. They are trained in unusual dog behaviours for the person’s specific needs.
